Authorities have identified a 47-year-old woman who drowned as her car sunk into a retention pond Friday night after she unsuccessfully tried to save the vehicle from rising water.

Cassandra Bryant, of the 1400 block of Blue Bell in north Harris County, was southbound on the North Freeway service road around 10 p.m. when rising water prompted her to maneuver the car inadvertently into the pond.

A passer-by at the scene urged Bryant to exit the vehicle, but the woman apparently expressed concern she would lose her green Chevrolet Cavalier, police said.